BrazilQ&A with Marco Fahd, Founder and CEO of Versatile International
Marco Fahd is the Founder, Chairman and CEO and Versatile International, a project management consultancy with a niche in the construction sector. We sat down with him to discuss the firm’s growth, the ingredients behind its success, and how he expects the ambitions for Versatile International going forward.
To start with, can you tell us more about the company and what led to its establishment?
Versatile International was founded to address a specific need: providing expert stone project management services for destination-scale development projects. Our company draws on the extensive experience we’ve built within Versatile Group, one of Australia’s leading real estate development and construction firms.
As Group Chairman and CEO, I’ve been deeply involved in every phase of the supply chain, which gave us the insight to design a specialized service that brings real value to developers working on destination-scale projects.
What sets us apart is that we approach projects with a full 360-degree perspective. We’ve been in our clients’ shoes at every stage of the process. We understand the complexities of asset development because we’ve been developers. We know how challenging it is to secure the right materials because we manage procurement, and we understand the critical importance of quality control during installation because we’ve been in the construction trenches ourselves.
This end-to-end experience is what makes Versatile International’s approach unique.
On that unique approach in the sector. What pushed you to change the way things are done in the industry?
Our approach is grounded in the recognition that the traditional model for managing construction supply chains, especially for giga-projects, is inherently flawed.
In the traditional model, stone procurement involves numerous intermediaries – contractors, agents, suppliers, manufacturers, and quarries. This adds unnecessary complexity and increases the likelihood of hidden costs, budget overruns, and compromised quality.
There are two main reasons for this. First, priorities often clash. Asset developers are focused on realizing their vision, while contractors are incentivized to maximize profit. Contracts are frequently awarded to the lowest bidder, which forces contractors to compromise on material quality. This creates a lose-lose situation – contractors are forced to cut corners, and developers don’t receive the quality materials they need.
The second reason has to do with the nature of stone. Unlike concrete, stone is both a highly variable natural material and a finished product that often forms the public face of an asset. This means that if you make a mistake in procurement or installation, there are no quick fixes. You have to either replace the material from the source – which is costly and time-consuming – or live with it.
This is not necessarily a major issue if you’re dealing with small quantities. However, when you’re dealing with enough stone to cover 100 football fields and coordinating hundreds of suppliers and contractors, even a minor quality issue can quickly escalate into a significant cost and budget overruns simply because of the scale and the complexity of the supply chain.
What drove us to rethink this model was the realization that this lack of transparency and accountability often leads to significant inefficiencies for asset developers. In fact, globally, 30% of construction budgets are wasted on rework – mistakes that could have been avoided with proper oversight and planning.
What the asset developers need is a trusted advisor working on their behalf to bridge the misaligned priorities and minimize risks across the supply chain, ensuring full transparency, quality control, and certainty of outcome.
How does Versatile International’s approach address these challenges and what impact has it had on your business?
We developed a ‘right from the start’ model that offers end-to-end oversight of natural stone design, sourcing, and installation. This model eliminates many of the risks inherent in the traditional model by integrating governance, material expertise, and transparent procurement processes from the very beginning.
We collaborate closely with asset developers and designers to review their plans and ensure the materials they intend to use are fit for purpose. If there’s any potential risk with the material chosen during the design phase, we identify it early on and offer recommendations to address it before procurement even begins. This way, when we enter the procurement process, we’re confident that we can source stone with the exact characteristics, quantities, and quality needed to bring the project vision to life.
At the procurement stage, we carefully review tenders to ensure that suppliers not only have the right materials and can meet deadlines, but also adhere to important ESG standards. Once a supplier is selected, we inspect the materials at the quarry or factory to ensure they meet the specifications before they are shipped. This ensures that when the materials arrive on site, they are exactly as outlined in the procurement documents, which are fully aligned with the project's vision.
Lastly, we develop the work methods for installation and oversee the entire process to ensure the stone is installed correctly and showcases its natural beauty. We conduct dry lays before the final installation begins, literally piecing together the layout block by block to make sure the result matches the design.
Essentially, we guarantee certainty of outcome by ensuring that, at every stage, we have the right material from the right supplier, in the right quantities, delivered on time, and installed properly to fulfill the asset’s vision.
This approach has had a profound impact on our business. Our ability to deliver projects efficiently without the common pitfalls of hidden costs and delays has set us apart in the industry. Since 2020, we have played a significant role in some of the Middle East’s most high-profile projects, including working with Diriyah Company in Saudi Arabia on over 50 projects within its $63 billion cultural district.
Our involvement in these landmark projects has demonstrated the value we bring – not just in executing the developer’s vision but in ensuring that it is done with transparency and precision from start to finish.
Beyond project management, can you share more about the other ways Versatile International is pushing the boundaries and driving change in the industry?
We are actively applying our unique project management model beyond stone projects. The launch of Asheil Versatile Lighting Technologies in July is a key example, where we’ve extended the same transparency and risk management approach to lighting for destination-scale developments. Similar to natural stone, large-scale projects need lighting in high volumes, but traditional supply chains often involve numerous intermediaries, leading to delays and cost overruns.
Asheil follows the same innovative model we use in stone project management, leveraging our expertise in managing complex supply chains for destination-scale developments. This model is designed to increase transparency, reduce risks, and offer a wide range of locally manufactured lighting products.
Based in Saudi Arabia, the first phase includes constructing a 5,000 m2 factory, with plans to expand to 20,000 m2. Once completed, Asheil’s portfolio will feature over 1,000 lighting solutions specifically tailored for giga-projects.
Whether through stone project management or diversifying into sectors like lighting, our mission remains the same: to provide end-to-end project governance that reduces supply chain risks and guarantees certainty of outcome for our clients.
How do you see the industry evolving in the next 5-10 years, and what role do you envision for Versatile International in shaping that future?
Looking ahead, I see two key ways the construction industry in the Middle East will evolve. First is the increasing importance of project management consultants with niche expertise. As the region’s economy and industries become more sophisticated, and client needs become more specialized, consulting firms that excel in one or two specific areas and offer unique value propositions that others cannot match will have a strong competitive edge and growth potential.
The second key trend is innovation. As competition increases, innovation will be essential for success. Whether it’s finding unconventional ways to solve industry-specific challenges or innovating in their own operations, leading consultancies – both large and small – will need to embrace innovation to thrive.
At Versatile International, we’re committed to staying ahead of both trends. We aim to continue partnering with asset owners to bring their giga-projects to life, contributing to national programs like Saudi Vision 2030. We also plan to explore new opportunities and expand our services to meet the region’s evolving needs. By driving innovation and delivering successful outcomes, we look forward to shaping the region’s most ambitious projects.
